TWCL

[ArtieAdams]

So I was looking at my websites stats and kinda getting down because it's not doing as well as I feel it should. It started me thinking about how I'm measuring my Comic's success and the degree of personal fulfillment I'm getting from it. Personal contentment with a project shouldn't be just a matter of numbers on a hit counter, right?

So here's my question to you: What is your personal criteria for whether or not your comic is 'doing well'. Is it purely a numbers thing? Do you base it on the amount of feedback you get, the fact that you never miss a deadline, etc...

Thanks

[ewomack]

I get enough hits to keep me going. If I received absolutely no hits or only a few a month, or something close to negligible, then I would start to question whether it's worth my time.

It's of course not all about numbers; I enjoy brainstorming and drawing as well. But numbers do play a role. Posting comics into a vacuum, even comics that you're proud of, probably won't satisfy many for long.

So how many hits is enough to keep me going? If I compared myself with popular internet sites I would have quit long ago. Instead I measure based upon where I started. In almost 5 years my site visits have steadily increased and right now they're as high as ever. I'm not breaking any records, but I'm doing ok enough. Again, enough to make me think that more people than my parents and grandmother are reading (and I know they are not).

It also doesn't hurt that I occasionally get really rabid feedback. My site was reviewed out of the blue a month or so ago and more than a few people have told me that they think my site is very underrated. Whether that's true (not everyone will think so, obviously), it at least gives me a boost. That all of these people were not related to me in any way (I haven't or hadn't met any of them personally) also helps. It makes me think that at least some people "get" my site and enjoy it.

If after almost 5 years I had received nothing but crappy feedback then I would wonder. In the end, it's a balancing act of related and unrelated items. Mood swings also play a part. It's actually pretty complicated.
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Ed Womack

[vaslittlecrow]

I'll be successful when I can call my business again, rather than a hobby.

I had to overhaul my business plan in late 2010 due to injuries, so I had to start over. But, the nice thing about being at the bottom again is that I can still try to climb up.

[Lavenderbard]

Well, my husband isn't a daily reader of yours, Dutch, but when he bumped into your webcomic at random he ended up going through the entire archive. (And not because I sorta know you, because he didn't know that.) That's might be worth something?

Since I'm finishing my graphic novel before I post it, obviously getting "hits" isn't what makes me work on it. I would finish the story whether I ever got any hits or made any money. The need to tell the story is what drives me.

But I really, really, really want to be recognized as a skilled storyteller, and I want to entertain other people. It's just that even if I never am, I'll keep telling stories until I die anyway.
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[smbhax.com]

Well I want to feel like it's something worth doing, of course. Beyond that I suppose it's largely a numbers thing, although what that probably really comes down to is eventually trying to convert those numbers into smaller numbers that create other numbers with dollar signs in front of them. At some point. :P
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[Lavenderbard]

Dutch wrote:

So... has he been back since?

I honestly don't know. I've never tracked his web-browsing. I only knew he'd read School Spirit because I happened to walk in when he was three quarters of the way through your archive, saw it up, and said, "Oh, hey I know (sort of) the guy who makes that!" and he admitted he'd been working his way through the archive for the past couple days.

He reads webcomics during slow times while playing his favorite MMORG, Puzzle Pirates. So most of the time when I walk in I see the game, not the comic hiding underneath it. If you didn't have such an amazingly huge archive, I probably never would have found out.

Dutch wrote:

Congratulations on you perseverance with it. A whole different sort of work there.

Thanks.
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[Varethane]

My proudest moment was probably when I got my first piece of out-of-the-blue fanart... that was an awesome feeling. C:
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[Gual-kun]

NaarieKermie wrote:

I consider my comic a success when people get attached to my characters.

I'm agree with you in this.

NaarieKermie wrote:

No, dear reader, thank YOU.

Totally.
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[Duskglass]

I didn't advertise my comic at all until very recently because I wasn't comfortable promoting it before I made a website, so even though my comic has been going over a year it hasn't built up much of a readership in that time. I don't even know how to check hits on my site and I... don't really care? Numbers just aren't meaningful to me.

I suppose the true measure of success is when I receive comments that indicate my tiny handful of readers really care.... and when I look back at the early pages and see improvement. C:

[sotsog]

I'm just starting to promote my webcomic now that we have our own site. As happy as I'am writing this comic the knowledge that other people are interested really pushes me to take that extra step. What in general is a good starting view count for a comic just starting to advertise themselves. Say in a 1 month period of advertising. It seems like some people are being modest about their traffic but I'm very interested.
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[halflight]

There are a couple of different layers of success for me - even finishing a page feels like an accomplishment, and every little piece of feedback I get makes me happy.

The main reason I'm doing my comic is to get the story down, drawn, and something I can hold in my hands. The telling of it is important to me, the sharing of it too. If my focus ever shifts to number of hits or whatever instead of the story itself, I probably won't enjoy making my comic as much anymore.

That said, I'll feel successful when the first few chapters are out there and done - and really successful when the whole thing is told, because I know I'll have learned so much along the way about making comics.
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[Metruis]

Dutch wrote:

Lavenderbard wrote: Well, my husband isn't a daily reader of yours, Dutch, but when he bumped into your webcomic at random he ended up going through the entire archive. (And not because I sorta know you, because he didn't know that.) That's might be worth something? Aw, that... that is Gold, LB. Your husband is my new best friend. He can come round for a barbie and a few beers any day.

My sister did that too! She found it without my help and read through the whole thing and was all like HEY LOOK AT THIS FUNNY COMIC and I was all "oh hey that guy's in my comic collective."


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